Partially built bridge in Colombia collapses and kills ten workers

A partially constructed motorway bridge in central Colombia has collapsed and claimed the lives of at least ten workers, leaving several others injured.

Nine of the workers died almost immediately, while another succumbed to injuries later in the hospital, reported nytimes.com.

After the incident, the National Infrastructure Agency of Colombia stated that it is investigating the cause of the collapse that made the workers to fall nearly 900ft into the canyon below.

Nearly 260ft of the bridge was yet to be built.

“Nine of the workers died almost immediately, while another succumbed to injuries later in the hospital, reported nytimes.com.”

Located in Chirajara on the border of Cundinamarca and Meta provinces, the bridge was being built to connect the capital Bogotá with the city of Villavicencio.

Construction officials told that most of the workers were receiving a safety briefing at the time of the incident and were not present on the bridge, thereby avoiding a larger mishap.

The planned bridge works comprise the construction of 18 new tunnels, 42 bridges and viaducts, as well as installation of new lighting and CCTV cameras.

The construction of the bridge was carried out by Coviandes, which later released a statement that it would take appropriate steps to help the kin of the workers who died or were injured following the incident.